mogovebn



(No Model.) 2 sheets-sheet 1. T. MOGOVERN. GOFFIN.

No. 427,889. l Patented May 1s, 1890,L

TNESESI 1HE cams Evans ca., mora-mun., wA'smNGToN, n. c4

(No Model.) -2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

'T. MCGOVERN. 00mm.

No. 427,889. Patented May 18, 1890.

INVENTOR:

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Nirnn Sterns i. EFFIC'EG THOMAS MCGOVERN,A OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

COFFIN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 427,889, dated May 13, 1890.

Application filed September 16, 1889. Serial No. 324,047. (No model.)

To all' whom t may concern:

Be it known that LTHOMAS MOGOVERN, a citizen of the United Stat-es, and a resident of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain Improvements in Burial Cases or Gaskets, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of burial cases, caskets, or coffinsin which the lid of the casket, dac., is provided with a sliding coversection; and the object of myinvention-is to improve the construction illustrated in the United States Letters Patent No.. 4.07 ,897, granted to lne July 30, 1889. I show and describe a casket in which the lid has a sliding cover-section, the edges whereof engage and slide in grooves in the elevated marginal rail of the lid. This section is adapted to slide over and above the fixed cover-section of the lid, and the grooves wherein it slides are made wider vertically at the head end of the casket in order that the said sliding section may descend at this point to the level of or flush with the fixed section. I find that this construction renders the grooves unsightly and seriously mars the appearance of the casket. In the construction herein set forth the grooves are rendered very inconspicuous, and the same or better results are attained.

My invention will be fully described her`einafter, and its novel features carefully dened in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrative of my invention, Figure l is a perspective view of a case or casket embodying my invention. This view shows the sliding panel or section in its normal position, or closed. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section of the casket, showing the sliding panel displaced, or open. Fig. 8 is a transverse section in the plane indicated by line 3 3 in Fig. 2, butrepresenting the sliding panel in section. Fig. 4. shows the sliding panel detached, the views representing the under side and edge thereof. Figs. 5 and 5 are enlarged fragmentary views illustrating the form of the grooves. Fig. 5 is a sectional elevation, and Fig. 5'AL is a seetional plan, the plane of the section being indicated by line 5 5 in Fig. 5. Figs. (l, 7, 8, 9, and l0 illustrate constructions that will be hereinafter described.

In this patent A represents the body of the casket, and B the removable lid of the same. These may be in general of the usual construction, and may be made of any suitable material. My present invention relates solely to the lid B. About the margin of the lid is araised rim a, and integral with this rim is the `depressed covering portion o of the lid. This covering` 6o portion has a raised foot-panel o', a raised center panel Z22, and at the head end of the casket there is an aperture 0c in the portion b, which will usually be furnished with a glass plate y, as seen in Fig. 5. This use of a glass plate is common in caskets and cofiins and forms no part of my invention. v

To cover the aperture x, I employ a sliding panel c, which will be preferably of the same size, contour, and thickness as the foot-panel 7o b, whereby when the panel c is in place, as seen in Figs. I and 3, it will give the lid of the casket a uniform appearance. The panel c fits quite snugly between the side portions of the raised rim a, as seen in Fig. 3, and is provided at its lateral edges with oppositely.- arranged projecting dowels d CZ and d d', which project into grooves e e in the respective inner faces of the rim a and form bearings or supports in said grooves for the slid- 8o ing panel. The grooves e are very narrow, measured vertically, and are purposely made so in order that they may be as inconspicuous as possible, and they are arranged, moreover, so as to enable the panel c to b slid over and above the foot-panel Z1', as seenin Fig. 2. The dowels will also be thin or slender, so that they may slide freelyin and alon r the grooves, and they may be of steel or othetr stiff metal, if desired. Preferably'the dow- 9o els will be placed close to or flush with the lower face of the panel c, as represented in Figs. G and 7, which show, respectively, two forms of said dowels.

In order to enable the panel 'c to descend 95 and rest upon the cover o about the aperture x when the said panel is slid to its normal position, lateral slots, recesses, or grooves g andv g are formed in the inner faces of the side portions of the rim a, extending from the Ico slots e down to the surface upon which the panel c is destined to rest. These lateral grooves are so placed as to receive the respective dowels d and d. Two pairs of dowels areaised in order to provide the proper four points of support for the panel c in its sliding movement, and in order that the dowels d, nearest the head end of the panel, may not drop into or catch in the lateral grooves g' when the panel c israised and slid down toward the foot of the casket, the said dowels are by preference made wider than the dowels d', the lateral grooves g being of course made wider than the grooves g. This construction is not absolutely essential, as the operator may slide the panel c without it it care be taken; but it avoids the liability of the dowels at the head end of the panel catching in the lateral grooves g' when they pass over the latter.

In Fig. 6 I have shown the dowel d made from a rod or wire of oval section and the dowel d made from a rod or wire of cylindrical section; but they may both be made of sheet metal, as seen in Fig. 7, the doweld being made a little wider than the dowel d.

The difliculty sought to be remedied by making one pair of dowels wider than the other and one pair of lateral grooves correspondingly wider than the other may be obviated by an equivalent construction illustrated in Figs. S and i), the former of which is a section similar to Fig. 511 and the latter a plan view of a part of the sliding panel e, provided with dowels. In these views the lateral grooves gX and gm are of the same width, and the corresponding dowels dX and dX are also of the saine width and made to lit the grooves; but the dowels (ZX are made shorter than the dowels (ZX and do not extend into the full depth of the grooves e, and the grooves g'X are correspondingly abbreviated in depth, as Seen in Fig. S. This will prevent the lower dowels (ZX from dropping into the shallower grooves gx.

The construction of the grooves as herein described and the use of thin or slender dowels to play therein render the grooves very inconspieuous, which is an important desideratum in this class of structures.

In order to displace the panel c, it is only necessary to raise it until the dowels enter the longitudinal or main grooves e, when it may be slid to the position seen in Fig. 2.

I have shown the panel c provided with buttons or litters 71., whereby it may be conveniently operated, and it may also be provided with a fastening to retain itin place when the casket is closed; but this forms no part of my invention, and I have not shown it in the drawings.

I have shown my invention applied to a burial-ease of wood,the sliding panel c heilig' also of wood; but the case or casket may be of metal as well, and the panel c may be of metal also-as sheet metal, for example. In this case the dowels may, if desired, be integral with the sliding panel.

In the principal figures I have not shown the casket covered with cloth; but it may be and usually is so covered. In Fig. IO, which is a fragmentary sectional view on a large scale, I have shown the parts covered with cloth fi. A fold of this cloth extends into the groove e in such a manner as to substantially iill the same, and to the eye the groove will present the appearance of a mere crease in the fabric; but the yielding nature ot the soft fabric will permit the thin smooth metal dowels to slide freely and noiselessly along said groove, displacing the fabric as it moves. The dowel may be of thin steel plate smoothed and rounded at its edges, so as not to eut or tear the cloth.

Having thus described my invention, I claiml. The combination, with the body of the casket, of the removable lid of the same, said lid having a raised marginal rim a, provided with narrow longitudinal grooves c in the inner faces of said riln and with lateral branch grooves, as g and g', from the grooves c, and the sliding panel c, provided at its edges with dowels, as d and d', arranged to engage said lateral branch grooves when the panel is in place, as set forth.

2. The combination, with the body ot a casket, ot the removable lid thereof, said lid having a raised marginal rim of, a cover portion l), with an aperture x therein, grooves e in the inner faces of theraised rim and above the level of the portion l), lateral grooves g and g', branching from the grooves e, the groove g being larger than the groove y', and the sliding panel c, provided with dowels d and d of unequal size, engaging the said grooves, substantially as set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

l THOMAS llieGOVERN.

Witnesses:

lInNnv CoNNE'rr, J, 1I). CAPLINGER.

IOO 

